Oak Island Environmental Spring Festival

1st CRAWL SPRING FESTIVAL

The 1st Crawl (Environmental) Spring Festival will be held on Saturday, April 24th from 10am-2pm at Middleton Park. Alganomics, LLC will participate in this event, with its mobile laboratory trailer onsite. This is an appreciation event for the Oak Island Community with an emphasis on environmental education. The festival will appeal to all ages and will include informational booths, give-away items, speakers, demonstrations, entertainment, childrens activities, food and will kickoff with a Team Turtle Triathlon (paddle, bike, run/walk). Team Turtle Triathlon will begin at 8am. For more information call: 910-278-5518 COME OUT AND HAVE A BLAST!

Green Enterprise Resource Summit

On Monday, April 19th, U.S. Representative Mike McIntyre will host a “Green Enterprise Resource Summit.” Alganomics will be represented by Dr. Kim Jones. The Summit is open to all and will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Cape Fear Community College’s North Campus, 4500 Blue Clay Road, Castle Hayne. Directions can be found at: http://cfcc.edu/campusmap/northcampus.html. Jobs are the most important issue facing our area, and this event will highlight federal and state resources that can assist green business and green job creation and will encompass a thorough discussion of what resources are available through state and federal government to grow green jobs. We will be welcoming representatives from multiple federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy, the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Rural Development, the N.C. Department of Commerce, the N.C. Green Business Fund, the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, and more. Attendees will learn what resources these and other agencies have to offer and how they can access those resources. The second half of the summit will provide attendees with the opportunity to ask questions of the agency representatives and to offer suggestions on how Congress and government, in general, can best assist their efforts to grow green sector jobs in southeastern North Carolina. Hope to see you there!

Presenting at National Algae Association

Alganomics will be represented via a presentation by Dr. Kim Jones at the National Algae Association's Mid-South Chapter Workshop on Friday, March 26, 2010. The workshop, titled "Algae: Mining Wastewater for Nutrients, Feed and Fuel," will be held in Huntsville, Alabama. The workshop description is as follows:
"With US freshwater supplies slowly dwindling and algae culture quickly becoming the centerpiece of bioenergy/bioremediation research, we must carefully examine our water and nutrient sources for an efficient, sustainable algal industry. This workshop explores how to minimize algae's freshwater and nutrient footprints by recycling anthropogenic wastewater streams including agricultural, municipal, and industrial while at the same time producing a host of valuable algal end products. In addition, we will learn of algae's tremendous potential as a cost-effective bioremediation tool for wastewater streams, effecting a more stable and healthy ecosystem."
Dr. Jones' presentation is titled, "Phycoremediation: Balancing the Chemical Budgets," with the following description:
Phycoremediation, or the use of microalgae for the removal of nutrients, organics and/or heavy metals from wastewaters, is gaining research intensity, as a result of biofuels/bioproducts and environmental mandates. Designing integrated chemical recycling systems will impact "algae to biofuels" through its environmental remediation, productivity and economics.
Please see the National Algae Assn. website for registration details, http://www.nationalalgaeassociation.com/.

Blessings

As the 2009 year comes to a close, reflection is called upon. So many blessings have been bestowed on Alganomics over this past year. Grants, project support, business guidance and encouragement are but of a few of the blessings. There are many organizations to thank, and although someone may get missed, a list is all too appropriate. Special thanks to the following:
Cape Fear Resource Conservation & Development
Clearwater Enterprises & Clark Brothers
Biofuel Center of North Carolina
NC Board of Science & Technology – NC Green Business Fund
North Carolina Biotechnology Center – Southeast Office
Brunswick Electric Membership Cooperative
Town of Oak Island
Small Business Technology Development Center – Wilmington
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School - BASE

May the Lord bless you and yours this holiday season!

Independance Day

As the “Old Glory” is the symbol of freedom celebrated on the Fourth of July, Americans on a daily basis are focusing more on freedom from fossil fuels. Renewable energy and recycling have become the battle cries and many have been called to arms. From “Big Oil” to the environmental entrepreneurs, technology development is accelerating at a rapid pace. American ingenuity is again showing its true colors of red, white and blue. As the information age has created a nation strong in technology, the renewable energy age seeks to bring energy independence to the American horizon. Start by joining in a skirmish or join in a raging battle, but know we are each needed on some level in order to make this a success story. “We Want You!”

Green Jobs for America

Dr. Kim Jones of Alganomics will be a panel member at the following conference:

Join us to MoveOn … Green…
Green jobs for America: “Looking at Southeastern NC” Conference

When: March 28th, 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Where: Northeast Branch Library, 1241 Military Cut Off
Road in the David M. Paynter Assembly Room, Wilmington, NC.
What: A conference with key players providing
an overview of where we are on greening the
economy with green jobs and green initiatives.
WHY: To improve health, economic stability and
energy independence.
Free to all. A project of MoveOn Regional Council

Algae Commercialization Outlook

36 billion gallons by 2022!
Renewable Fuels Standard
On December 19, 2007, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (H.R. 6) was signed into law. This comprehensive energy legislation amends the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) signed into law in 2005, growing to 36 billion gallons in 2022. By doing so, the bill seizes on the potential that renewable fuels offer to reduce foreign oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions and provide meaningful economic opportunity across this country, putting America firmly on a path toward greater energy stability and sustainability.

According to a January 2008 study, the economic impact of a 36 billion gallon RFS is as follows:
will add more than $1.7 trillion to the Gross Domestic Product between 2008 and 2022;
generate an additional $436 billion of household income for all Americans during the same time period;
support the creation of as many as 1.1 million new jobs in all sectors of the economy; and,
generate $209 billion in new Federal tax receipts.
(Source: Economic Impact of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, LECG LLC.)

This is the economic development our economy must invest in.

These are some highlights from the recent webinar by William Thurmond, ”Algae 2020: Biofuels Markets and Commercialization Outlook"
(http://www.emerging-markets.com/)
Key drivers in the biofuels market growth are:
Economic Security
Environmental Security
National Security
Energy Independence
Tax Incentives
Government Mandates

Algae biomass can produce multiple fuels from a single biomass source, including 1st generation biodiesel fuels, 1st generation ethanol fuels, and 2nd generation renewable diesel, renewable gasoline, jet fuel and biocrude. Algae is also being used in test trials for aviation, sea and road transport.

Production Volume by Fuelstock:
Soy 50 gal/acre/year
Palm 650 gal/acre/year
Jatropha ~250 gal/acre/year
Current Algae from ponds ~5,000 gal/acre/year
Algae Potential (photobioreactors) 10,000-20,000 gal/acre/year (continuous crop)

A substantial and growing gap between biofuel production and production capacity in the United States is caused by simply not enough feedstock or fuelstock. The US must look to alternative fuelstocks. Algae has such potential and a variable market for bioproducts, in addition to biofuels.